Cooling system for firearms



July25, 1933. F. T. MOORE COOLING SYSTEM FOR FIREARMS Filed May 14, 1931[Hz 5272202". F275 darzaf: TMU are.

.5 1/. TM J I 2 14131502757:

' FREDERICK T. MOORE, or EAST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, AssIeNoR To COLTSPAT NT 00., or HARTFORD,

Patented July 25, 1933 TATE PATENT- FF CE f.

- FIRE RMS MANUFACTURING "TION or CONNECTICUT CONNECTICUT, A CORPORA-COOLING sYsrEM ro 'rrRnARms pplicatio filed m 14, 1931. SerialNo.537,283.

The' preent invention particularly ap plicabletoautomatic firearms ofthe type dis closed in patents'to John M. Browning No.

7 1,293,021 dated February 4, 1919 and No.

1,628,226 dated-May lO, 1927 ;.but theinvention is not necessarily solimited.

When' an automatic firearm of the'type shown in the aforesaidpatents isintended I jacket for .ground or field use, it is commonly pro-- videdwith'a water tube or jacket which surrounds the barrel, water beingcirculated throughthe jacket to co'ol'the barrel. The

has the further function .of supporting and guiding the barrel near theforward end thereof. For aeroplane use and also for purposes includingsome'class'es of ground service,'the water jacket may be omitted andthere may be provided in lieu thereof a smaller jacket which surroundsthe .barrel and serves to support and guidethe barrel near .the forwardend thereof. This smaller jacket is providedwith' openings therein whichpermit free circulation of air so that air cooling of the barrel will beefiected.

' The mechanisms of the water cdoled and of'theair cooled firearms maybe identical or at least similar in construction, and one oftheiobjects'of the'present invention is to provide means at'the' forward end of themain casing which makes it'possiblefor the interchangeable ttachmenteither of the parts required for water cooling or of theparts-requiredfor aircooling. As theresult of the invention, it ispossible to construct the yarious' parts of the firearm proper withoutregard to the cooling systemto be used, thus-making itpossibl'e for theparts to be made'in largerquantities, and therefore more-economically;The inventionhas the furtheradvantage that firearmsori'ginal- .lyconstructed forone system of cooling can be, easily transformed so as to'be, adapted for the other system. The completeequip- .ment of afirearmflmay includeparts for both water cooling and fair cooling,'thu smaking it possiblefor either system to be used'that conditions may makenecessary. I

,,.In theaccompanying drawing I have shown the embodiment of heinvention which 'I now deem preferable, but it will be underbsupportetl.

stood thatthe drawing is intended for illustrative purposes only and isnot to be construed as limiting, or defining the scope of Figs. 3 and 4are plan and side views respectively of the latch, of which an end viewappears in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1,but showing the jacket for aircooling substituted for V the jacket-for water cooling.

An automatic firearm or gun of the type'to which the invention isparticularly applicable, has a breech or main casing which carries andcontains all of the working parts except the barrel whichprojectsfromthe casing at the front thereof. In the drawingonly thefront portion of the casing is shown, this being indicated at 1."The'barrel 2 projects forward from the breech or main casing and ismounted to-reciprocate longitudinally during firing'as fully explainedin the'two patents referred to. The main casing 1 includes a front 7 endmember 3' which is commonly known as a trunnion block. The trunnionblock 3 is mounted between two side plates 45, e'which areriveted to thetrunnion block as indicated at 5, 5. A. transverse hole 6 through thetrunnion block and through the side plates is adapted for the receptionofa'transverse trunnionipin which formsa part of or is carried Thistrunnion pm, by reason ofits engagement with'the trunnion block and sideplates, serves portions of the gun;

Carried by the main casing at the forward end thereof isa means soconstructed as to be adapted either for the attac mentof a'relatively,large acketffol "water-V cooling or for the attachment cooling. Asconcerns the broader aspects of of a smaller jacket for an:

the mount on which the gun is a;

to support the forward'end the invention, I do not limit myself as tothe particular form of this attachment means, but preferably the saidmeans is in the form of a forward projecting flange 7 surrounding thebarrel 2 and secured to or formed as a part of the trunnion block 3. Theflange 7 is exteriorly threaded at 8 forthe attachment of a jacket forwater cooling, and it is interiorly threaded at 9 for the attachment ofa jacket for air cooling. I Y

In Fig. 1 I have shown in place a'jacket for water cooling, this jacketbeing indicated as an entirety by 10. The jacket 10 is provided at itsforward ends with the usual means for supporting and guidingthe barrel2. The details of the water jacket 10 and the parts used'therewithconstitute no part ofthe present invention and description of them canbe omitted. At the rear end of the water jacket 10 there is provided anadapter member or cap 11 having a flange into which the rear end of thewater jacket proper is threaded. The adapter member 11 has acylindricaLportion 11 which surrounds and engages the flange-7 andisprovided with internal threads which engage the external threads 8 onthe said flange. The threads 8 are concentric with the barrel, and itwill therefore be obvious that the adapter 11 with thejacket 10 can beput in place or removed by being rotated I about thebarrel axis so as toengage or disengage the threads at 8. a In order to locate the adapter11 and the waterjacket 10 in proper relationship to the other parts ofthe gun, the cylindrical portion 11 of the adapter is provided at itsrear end with a notch 12 into whichenters a mov able latch 13. Thedetails of the latch 13 may be varied without departing from the inven-4 tion, but as shown the latch is mounted between the two dependingportions3, 3 of the trunnionvblock, being supported by atransverse-pivot pin at 14., A spring pressed plungor 15 isadapted toenter a transverse horizontal hole 16 in one of the said depending-por-'tions 3, this plunger serving to hold the latch in its upper operativeposition. The plunger 15 can be withdrawn from the hole 16 by insertinga suitable-tool intoa. hole 15 in the plunger and by thus movingtheplunger endwiseagainst the pressure of its spring. When the plunger15 is free from the hole 16, the latch may be swung downward to releasethe adapter 11. i I v It will be apparent that when the water jacket 10is in place as shown in Fig. 1 the threads 9 for the other jacketintended for air cooling are not used, but the said threads 9 arenevertheless provided in order that the C0 gun may be adapted to be veryquickly and conveniently transformed from a water cooled gun to an aircooled gun.

In Fig. 5 I have shown thegun equipped for air cooling, and it will beunderstood that the trunnion block with the flange 7 thereon is exactlythe same as already described in connection with Fig. 1. The waterjacket 10 and the adapter member 11 therefor are omitted, and there isprovided asmaller jacket 17 which surrounds the barrel and which at itsrear end enters and engages the interior of the flange 7. The jacket 17has exterior threads which engage the interior threads 9 on the saidflange. The jacket 17 is provided with a number of relatively largeopenings 18, 18 which facilitate the circulation of air into contactwith the barrel, and the said jacket is further provided with means nearits forward end for supporting and guiding the barrel 2.

Preferably when the jacket 17 is in place there is provided an auxiliarymember 19 which is connected to and surrounds the flange 7, this memberpreferably having two functions. One of these functions is to cover andprotect the external threads 8 on the flange 7, and the other of thesefunctions is toserve as means for connecting the gun with the mount orother means on which it is supported. As already pointed out, thehorizontal hole 6 through the trunnion block and the side plates of thebreech casing may be used for receiving a trunnion pin which supportsthe forward portion of the gun; but for an air cooled gun it issometimes preferred to provide a. means of support at a position forwardfrom the hole 6. Accordingly the connection member or ring 19 isprovided with two depending lugs 20 spaced apart transversely. In theselugs are aligned transverse holes 21 which may be used to receive ahorizontaltrunnion pin or other means .for connecting the gun with themount or other structure upon which it may be supported. The connectionmember 19 is provided with a notch 22, similar to the notch 12 in theadapter 11, and this notch maybe entered by the latch 13 in the manneralready described to hold the member 19 in its properpredeterminedrelationship to the other partsof the gun.

What I claim is: I

1. In an automatic firearm, a main casing having at the forward endthereof means comprising two separate portions adapted respectively forthe attachment of two different interchangeable barrel jackets.

2. In an automatic firearm, a main casing having at its forward end aflange exteriorly threaded for the attachment of a barrel jacket andinteriorly threaded for the attachmentof a. different barrel jacket.

3. For an automatic firearm, a trunnion block having at the frontthereof an integral flange exteriorly threaded for the attachment ofabarrel jacket and interio rly threaded for the attachment of a differentbarrel jacket.

' 4. In an automatic firearm, the combination of a main casing having atits forward end a flange surrounding the barrel and adapt-ed at itsinterior to receive and engage a barrel jacket for air cooling,anadapter member engaging the flange at the exterior thereof, and awater jacket for the barrel connectedwith the said adapter member.

5. In an automatic firearm, the combina-' tion of a main casing havin atits forward 6. In an automatic firearm,

end; an exteriorly threaded flange surrounding the barrel,' the saidflange being interiorly threaded for the attachment of a barrel jacketfor air cooling, an adapter member engaging the exterior threads of theflange, a water jacket for the barrel connected with the said, adaptermember, and a'manually operable ,latch on the casing adapted toengagethe adapter to lock it inapredeterm ined 'posi- 4 tion..

for a water jacket,zand a barrel jacket for 7. In an automatic firearm,the combinat1on of a main casing having atits'forward end-a flangesurrounding the barrel" and adaptedat its exterior to receive andengage" an adapter for a water jacket, and a jacket I for air coolingengaging the vflange ,at the interior thereof. j V v 8. In anautomaticfirearm, thecomb ination of a maincasing' havin at its forward end aninteriorly threaded ange surrounding the barrel, the said flange beingexteriorly threaded for the attachment ofan adapter air cooling engagingthe interior threads of the flange; j 1 j 9. In an automatic -firearm,the combination of a main casing having at its forward end a flangesurrounding the barrel, a member engaging the exterior of the flange andadapted for connection with a gun mount,

and a barrel jacket for air cooling engaging the flange at the interiorthereof. I

the combine? t10n of a main casing having at its forward 10. In anautomatic firearm, the combination of a main casing having at itsforward end a flange surrounding the barrel and threaded extcriorly andinteriorly, a ring engaging the exterior threads of the flange andadapted for connection with a gun mount,

and a barrel jacket for air cooling engagingthe, interior threadsof theflange.

11. In an automatic firearm, the combination of a main casing having atits forward end a flange surrounding the barrel and threaded exteriorlyand inter iorly, a ring en gaging the exterior threads of the flange andadapted for connection with a gun mount, a manually operable latch onthe casing adapted to engage the connection ring to lock it in apredetermined position, and a barrel jacket for air cooling engaging theinterior threads of the flange.

12. In an automatic firearm, the combination of a main casing having atits forward end a flange surrounding the barrel and threaded exteriorlyand interiorly, a barrel interior threads of the flange, an adapter fora barrel jacket for water cooling adapted to engage the exterior threadsof the flange, and aconnection member adapted to engage the saidexterior threads interchangeably with the said water jacket.

13. In an automatic firearm, the combina tion of a main casing having atits forward end a flange surrounding the barrel and threaded exteriorl-yand interiorly, a barrel jacket for air cooling adapted to engage theinterior threads of the flange, an adapter for barrel jacket forwatercooling adapted to jacket for air cooling adapted to engage ther engagethe exterior threads of the flange,

a connection member adapted to engage the said exterior threadsinterchangeably with the said water jacket, and a manually operablelatch on the casing adapted to engage. either the water jacket adapteror the connection member. 1

FREDERICK 'r. MOORE.

